‘REALLY HAPPY’:An ecstatic Wawrinka said he ‘tried everything’ to beat the defending champ, who ousted him last year and said the Swiss player deserved to win

David Ferrer of Spain serves to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic yesterday in their men’s singles quarter-final match at the Australian Open in Melbourne Park.

Photo: EPA

Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka stunned three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open yesterday to throw the men’s competition into flux.

The eighth seed triumphed after a pulsating five-set quarter-final that ran for four hours and finished 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 9-7 when Djokovic volleyed out on the first match point.

It was a personal triumph for Wawrinka, 28, who took Djokovic the distance in last year’s fourth round in Melbourne and was also denied by the Serb in another five-setter at the US Open.

Wawrinka’s win halted Djokovic’s 25-match winning streak at the Australian Open, which stretched to 2011 and included 2012’s record, six-hour final against Rafael Nadal.

It also snapped the six-time Grand Slam champion’s run of 14 straight major semi-finals and broke a 28-match unbeaten stretch dating to the US Open final in September last year.

“Last year, [at the Australian Open] I didn’t finish it and it was really tough, but this year I came back, it’s a new year and I was feeling really good,” Wawrinka said. “I tried everything, he’s an amazing champion ... I’m really, really, really, really happy.”

Wawrinka, who was cramping by the end and headed straight for an ice bath, goes into his second Grand Slam semi-final, where he will face Tomas Berdych after the Czech ousted third seed David Ferrer.

However, the earlier results were eclipsed by Wawrinka’s great upset, which ensures that a player from outside of the men’s “Big Four” will contest the Melbourne final.

Djokovic bombed through the first set in just longer than half-an-hour, but he stumbled in the second and looked increasingly tight in the third, as Wawrinka took a two-sets-to-one lead.

The champion was tottering, but just when he looked to be heading out against the increasingly confident Swiss, he broke for 5-3 in the fourth set, letting out a mighty yell to the sky.

He sealed the set with an ace to take it into a fifth, where they exchanged early breaks and Wawrinka staved off another break point at 2-1 down with a titanic, 31-shot rally.

The decider stretched on until the 16th game, when a Djokovic error gave Wawrinka a match point. As the clock ticked over to four hours, the Serb’s long reign crumbled when he put a volley out.

“He took his opportunities. He deserved this win today. I congratulate him absolutely. There is nothing I can say,” Djokovic said.

“You know, I gave it my best. I gave it all. I tried to come out as the winner. I tried to fight till the last point as I did in a very similar match we did last year fourth round, same court, but it wasn’t to be this time,” the Serb added.

Earlier, China’s Li became the favorite to reach the women’s final as she pummelled winners past Pennetta in a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

Li, who is seeking her second Grand Slam title, is peaking at the right time, with the 67-minute mauling coming after she smashed past Ekaterina Makarova in less than an hour on Sunday.

Li, 31, is gunning to reach her third Melbourne final, but she faces a new challenge from 19-year-old Bouchard, who announced her presence on the world stage by ousting Ivanovic.

Despite a huge gulf in experience and rankings, the Canadian world No. 31 aggressively took the fight to Ivanovic, who is ranked 14th.